Merry Christmas to all my Blog readers

I've been writing the 'View from the Chamber' blog for a year now and thoroughly enjoy the interaction I have had from friends, family, neighbours, constituents, political colleagues and those living and working throughout Sussex, England and elsewhere in the world.

Having passed the milestone of 25,000 page views last week it seems clear that readers must be finding something of interest on the blog but I will continue to try and find a right mix of local an national news items, politics and my passionate support for supporting local businesses and British products.

Merry Christmas to you all and your families, I shall be going off line now for a couple of days whilst I enjoy Christmas with my family but resume blogging on the 27th December.

Patrick

Message of hope by new Arch Bishop

The incoming leader of the Church of England has released a message of hope, reminding the faithful of the true meaning of Christmas.

The Rt Rev Justin Welby, 56, current Bishop of Durham, becomes the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury in March.
He said: “In tough times like these, it can sometimes be difficult to focus on the positive; talk of recession, news of redundancies and reports of worldwide conflict grinds us down.

“However, Christmas is a time for celebration.
“The shepherds, poor as you could be even in those days, went to celebrate what had happened in a manger.
“Christmas has been associated with partying not only because the early church took over the festival of Saturnalia, which was traditionally a time for merrymaking, but also because what is being talked about is such good news. The best parties have something solid to celebrate, not just a desire to get out of one’s mind.

“The shepherds went to see Jesus and went away celebrating because God had come to be with them. “They were optimistic. Hope lived.”

He said he felt a sense of optimism when he saw people staffing food banks, sharing things. He said all of us could pop in on a neighbour or give something to someone who has had a rough year, “make space for them to have hope and joy”.

He said next year would be momentous for him, adding: “I did not seek the role but I will do everything in my power to ensure that I make a difference.”
Bishop Welby’s sermon will be tweeted as part of the Christmas Starts With Christ campaign.

EU backs down over MOT plans

European Union bureaucrats have backed down over plans to impose MOT tests on millions of British caravans and classic cars.

Transport Minister Stephen Hammond helped secure the deal which will see drivers spared the threat of having their vehicles taken off the road if they have been even slightly modified since leaving the factory.

If implemented, the European Commission MOT proposal would have cost British taxpayers an estimated £1billion over five years in test fees.

The Department for Transport successfully argued the costs would far outweigh any road safety benefits, forcing Brussels officials to water down their original plans. Instead, UK regulators will be able to continue to use their own judgment while historic vehicles will continue to be exempt if they were registered before 1960.

The move also spares UK garages the additional costs of having to buy equipment to examine specific components. The new deal needs to be reviewed by the European Parliament before final agreement.

This is a victory for common sense
Mr Hammond
Mr Hammond said: “This is a victory for common sense. The original proposals would have hit British businesses and motorists with massive additional costs for no good reason.

“The concessions we have secured will ensure that cost burdens are kept as low as possible, enabling the UK to maintain its proven testing regime and high road safety standards while providing some additional safety benefits across the EU.”

Scottish quangos spend £113 million on PR, overseas travel, consultants and hospitality

Scotland’s quangos spend £113 million per year on public relations, overseas travel, consultants and hospitality without having to explain the vast sums to taxpayers, according to a damning report published today.

Reform Scotland, a think tank, said it was the first time the full scale of expenditure in the four areas had been disclosed and blamed an “accountability gap” for the manner in which the bodies were spending public money.

While elected ministers are responsible for the performance of central government departments, the report said the arms-length nature of quangos meant there was too little scrutiny of their £14 billion annual budget.

According to official figures, quangos spend around £66.8 million per year on public relations, more than £3.7 million annually on overseas travel and nearly £2.5 million on hospitality and entertainment.

A total of £40.2 million was allocated for external consultants, bringing the total amount of taxpayers’ money spent on the four areas to more than £113.2 million.

Among the examples of the expenditure uncovered in the report was £300,000 on overseas travel by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), which is responsible for drawing up school exams.

Scottish Water spends £6.7 million of public money a year on consultants, while Creative Scotland, the country’s troubled arts quango, spends £209,000 annually on public relations.

Scotland’s health boards spent more than £1 million per year on hospitality and entertaining, while Scottish National Heritage allocated nearly £2.8 million for external consultants.

Reform Scotland said the quangos should be either abolished completely and their functions absorbed back into central government, or replaced by new bodies that sign “transparency” contracts with ministers.

The public could then hold the latter to account for their performance. Geoff Mawdsley, the think tank’s director, said: “We have revealed significant sums of public money being spent without sufficient public accountability.”

While ministers and independent bodies are answerable for the money they spend, he said: “Spending by quangos sits in an accountability gap in between. This is public money – taxpayers’ money – and those who spend it should be accountable.”

Reform Scotland was able to draw together the figures for the first time after legislation was passed requiring each quango to publish its expenditure in the four categories.

Creative Scotland, which has been embroiled in a crisis that led to the resignation of the chief executive and director of creative development, spent more than £550,000 on the four, including £250,000 on consultants and £49,500 on overseas travel.

Spending by the SQA is nearly £2 million annually, £1.5 million of which is allocated to public relations. Skills Development Scotland, a training quango, spent nearly £1.5 million on PR and more than £1 million on consultants.

Helen Lennox, Scottish Water’s head of corporate affairs, said rejected the report’s findings, stating: “No other public body is subject to such a demanding regulatory regime.”

A Creative Scotland spokesman said overseas travel is required to promote Scottish arts and culture, for example at foreign film festivals, while consultants are needed on schemes where “objective expertise” is required.

An SQA spokesman said the quango is paid to help “the development of education and skills in a variety of countries.”

A Scottish Government said the number of quangos has been cut from 199 to 144, with plans to cut the total further to 112 by 2014. A spokesman said mergers between the bodies have saved £78 million since 2007.

Falkland Islanders have historic opportunity to 'seize' their own destiny, Cameron says

-PM uses Christmas message to urge islanders to use referendum in March to decide their own future
-Poll will decide whether or not to remain UK territory
-David Cameron also accuses Argentina of misrepresenting history

David Cameron today urged the people of the Falklands to see off the threat posed by Argentina and secure their own future.

The Prime Minister used a Christmas message ahead of a referendum on sovereignty of the islands planned for March to challenge the Argentinians for 'misrepresenting' Falklands' history.
And he said the referendum was a chance to show the world 'what you want for your future'.
The poll is designed to fend off increasingly aggressive Argentine claims to the islands Buenos Aires knows as Las Malvinas.

Falklanders will be able to say whether or not they wish to continue as a UK territory.
Mr Cameron restated Britain's commitment to self-determination for the Falklands and made clear he hopes they will vote emphatically to retain their links to the UK.

He accused Argentine president Cristina Kirchner of ‘misrepresenting’ the facts about the Falklands in her campaign to reopen the sovereignty question, and said her stance represented a challenge to islanders' identity and economic wellbeing.

Mr Cameron's message came as the Queen appointed a new Governor for the Falklands.
Tensions have been mounting between Britain and Argentina over the claim to the islands, thirty years after Falklands War.

Just this week Britain's decision to name a part of Antarctica after the Queen was met with fury in Argentina.

An unnamed official in Buenos Aries said calling the vast disputed territory – twice the size of the UK – Queen Elizabeth Land is a ‘systematic attack within the context of the fight over the Falkland Islands’.

And in June this year Mr Cameron was involved in an extraordinary stand-up row with Argentina’s president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner when she tried to hand him documents about her country’s claim to the British territory.

Mr Cameron refused to accept the package at the G20 summit in Mexico, and insisted that she respect the views of the islanders, who want to remain British.

In today's festive message, the Prime Minister said: ‘I value deeply the UK's relationship with the Falklands and hope it will long continue. But it is not my decision, nor is it Argentina's, it is yours and yours alone.

‘This referendum is true democracy in action, an opportunity to show the international community what you want for your future and to show it definitively. I hope all of you seize it.’

He went on: ‘I'm always conscious that you, the people of the Falkland Islands, continue to face a particular and direct challenge both to your economy and to your identity as Falkland Islanders.

‘President Kirchner's government appears determined to argue that you should have no say in how you are governed. They continue to misrepresent the history of your islands and the current realities of life there.

‘It is a pity that Argentina persists in behaving this way. The UK would like to have a more positive relationship with the government of Argentina.

‘We are stepping up our engagement with Latin America more generally. And there are so many global issues we could work on together.

‘But the British Government will not stand by and allow your human rights to be ignored. There is no justification for any country to try and deny you the right to democracy and self-determination, nor to make attempts to isolate you, block your trade and undermine your legitimate fisheries, hydrocarbons and tourism industries.’

Colin Roberts will take up his posting at Government House in Port Stanley in April 2014, replacing current Governor Nigel Haywood.

A career diplomat who served as the Foreign Office's director of the Overseas Territories until earlier this year, Mr Roberts said: ‘I'm delighted to be appointed as Governor of the Falkland Islands and HM Commissioner for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

‘I am a great admirer of the achievements of the people of the Falkland Islands. I look forward to working with the community and their elected representatives for a secure and prosperous future.’
The appointment comes after the death last month of former governor Sir Rex Hunt, who was expelled by the Argentines during the 1982 invasion and was hailed by Mr Cameron in today's message as ‘a brave man and a dedicated public servant’.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2251763/Falkland-Islanders-historic-opportunity-seize-destiny-Cameron-says.html#ixzz2FofdTZn7
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RSPCA trustees 'broke charity rules' over David Cameron hunt prosecution

Trustees of the RSPCA broke charity rules by sanctioning a £300,000 prosecution of David Cameron’s local hunt, according to a cross-party group of MPs and peers including Lord Heseltine, the former Cabinet minister.

The politicians have reported the RSPCA to the Charity Commission for breaching a “duty of prudence” that governs their actions.

The group, which includes Simon Hart, the Conservative MP, Kate Hoey, the Labour MP, Mark Williams, the Liberal Democrat MP, and Baroness Mallalieu, told the watchdog that they had “concerns about the motivation for bringing this prosecution”.

They described the £326,000 cost of bringing the private prosecution against members of the Heythrop Hunt in Oxfordshire as “staggering” and urged William Shawcross, the chairman of the Commission, to investigate.

The Prime Minister, whose Witney consitituency covers Heythrop, rode with the hunt before the hunting ban was introduced by Labour in 2005.

Earlier this week, District Judge Tim Pattinson questioned the amount of donors’ money spent on bringing the successful private prosecution.

He suggested that “members of the public may feel that RSPCA funds can be more usefully employed”. The hunt and its members were fined £6,800 after admitting four charges of unlawfully hunting a wild fox with dogs. The judge drew attention to the fact that the private prosecution cost nearly 10 times more than the defence costs of £35,000.

The MPs and peers quoted his comments and questioned why the RSPCA engaged three barristers and a solicitors’ firm called Fishburns, “a London-based specialist law firm providing legal services to the insurance and reinsurance markets”. The firm was “engaged despite the fact that the RSPCA has its own in-house legal department”, the group said in the letter, which has been seen by The Daily Telegraph.

They added: “We believe that this 'staggering’ expenditure constitutes a clear breach of the 'duty of prudence’ by the trustees of the RSPCA in that it cannot possibly be argued that charitable funds and assets have been used reasonably.”

The “duty of prudence” aims to conserve the property of the trust. It is not a duty set out in the Charities Act 2006 or any other statute, but reflects principles defined through cases dealt within the courts. The group’s concern was that “if the prosecution was justified exactly the same result could have been achieved for a fraction of the cost with prudent management”.

They added: “Instead hundreds of thousands of pounds donated to the RSPCA by members of the public have been squandered unnecessarily on lawyers’ fees. This is all the more relevant given that the evidence obtained by the RSPCA was never even passed to the CPS, which might well have chosen to prosecute in the normal way, had the public interest requirement been met. We ask that you urgently investigate our complaint and ensure that the charity deals with future legal expenditure more prudently.”

The Charity Commission, which regulates the activities of charities, said that any action taken after a breach of charity rules “would depend on the circumstances of the case”.
A spokesman added: “Undertaking prosecutions is in furtherance of the RSPCA’s charitable objects and is made clear to the public on their website.

“It is for trustees to consider the matter of bringing prosecutions in accordance with these duties and any other requirements which might apply, and for them to consider the issue of costs.”
On Friday night the RSPCA said its trustees had done nothing wrong and it was in the public interest for the Heythrop Hunt to be prosecuted. A spokesman added: “We recognise the pressures on the police force, who rightly look to the RSPCA as experts in animal welfare matters.
“We would of course be delighted if the police were in a position to take on investigations of this kind and examine evidence of the complexity and scale of that relating to the Heythrop Hunt case.”

The spokesman said that the Charity Commission’s chief executive, Sam Younger, gave his blessing to the leadership of Gavin Grant, the RSPCA’s chief executive, at a meeting earlier this year.

Tories pledge to cap rises in welfare 'for SIX years' if they win the next election

-Chancellor announced three-year-squeeze on benefits in Autumn Statement
-Government sources raise possibility of extending cap until 2018
-Cap would save every working family equivalent of £700

A cap on welfare could last six years if the Tories are re-elected, senior officials suggested yesterday.

They claim the policy would be a vote winner because it would save the equivalent of £700 for every working family.

A three-year squeeze on benefit payments beginning next year was announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement.

But yesterday a government source raised the possibility of extending it to 2018 – saying the move would save the Exchequer more than £11billion.

The move would pile further on Labour which has attacked any cuts to welfare. It has called the Chancellor’s plans a tax on ‘strivers’ because 60 per cent of those affected are in work.
Instead of annual rises in benefits in line with inflation, which stands at 2.7 per cent, most benefits will be capped to 1 per cent from next year until 2015 – a cut in real terms.

Only carers and disability benefits and old age pensions have been exempted. The source added that a recent poll had confirmed the public were overwhelmingly in favour of capping benefits.
Tory party chairman Grant Shapps said the cap was ‘only fair’ at a time when private sector pay is being squeezed and public sector pay is rising by only 1 per cent.

He added: ‘Labour have indicated that they will vote against new laws to cap benefit rises, so it’s clear that a future Labour government would add £11 billion to the nation’s credit card – just as they built up debts when they were in power.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2251844/Tories-pledge-cap-rises-welfare-SIX-years-win-election.html#ixzz2Foa2msVE